Adventures in Grandparenting

June 2016

What do you get the person who has everything? It gets harder and harder (as we get older) to find that perfect gift. This is the dilemma I faced with one of our dear friends. Then I discovered he really likes apple pie. Who wouldn’t want to be given a home made pie? So I set out to find a delicious but fairly simple apple pie to make for him. This one is fabulous. He now gets an apple pie every year for his birthday. Actually, I make two at the same time because my husband also likes apple pie. They both think it is the best gift ever!!!

I am not a pie maker but this recipe is fairly easy and straight forward. As I mentioned earlier, I double the recipe to make two pies because I only do this once a year. I also don’t make pie crust from scratch, I purchase mine from the freezer section of the grocery store. They come in packs of two which is very convenient. Make sure to buy the deep dish variety and then over fill it a bit.

Peel, core and slice apples. In a bowl toss apple slices with lemon juice and vanilla. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Then toss with the apples. Fill the pie shell with the apple mixture. Mound the slices if necessary.

Topping:

½ cup flour

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup cold butter (1/2 stick) cut into pieces

Mix flour and brown sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter (use a fork if you don’t have a pastry knife) until is resembles coarse (not fine) crumbs. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the pie.

Bake pie on cookie sheet, on center rack, for 40 to 50 minutes until the juices form bubbles that burst slowly and the pie is slightly brown on top. Remove from oven and cool.

What? You don’t’ keep your tomatoes in protective custody? Well…mine are on lock down. That is because of the #@$!#* deer!!!

I don’t live in the country and my house doesn’t border the forest, I actually live by the beach. So where do the deer come from? I suspect they swim across from a tiny island a mile or so from land. It is supposedly home to some of Billy the Kids buried treasure. To add to the bury treasure intrigue, low tide exposes a sandbar, for short periods of time, allowing access to the island by foot. If deer can’t swim, then that must be how they get across – the land bridge!

My family rolls their eyes at my theory. Yet, last month I visited Fire Island, NY which is surrounded by the ocean. There are signs posted, in the sand dunes, with a warning, DO NOT FEED THE DEER! Ha…maybe my theory isn’t so crazy after all – beach deer do exist.

I guess it doesn’t matter how they get into my yard, they do. They wait until the tomatoes are just ripe enough (when you think, ‘tomorrow I will pick it for my sandwich’), they remove the fruit and the branches they are attached to. Basically, destroying my dreams of a bacon, lettuce and tomato and the possibility of the plant producing more tomatoes. This inspired my husband to create the jailed tomato fix. He built a cage around our tomato garden, when the plants get taller we put screens on top to keep them from getting munched.

Our system works pretty well. Once in a while an unsuspecting tomato plant wants to stretch its branches beyond the border, which is a mistake, it will be gone by the next morning. Last year I discovered that deer must not like onions. My scientific evidence? The tomato plants with onions bordering them did not get touched. So this year I increased the onion protection patrol and planted two bags around the tomato plant parameters. I didn’t mess with onion seeds, I used bulbs so they would come up faster.

I take guarding my tomatoes seriously. Hopefully, my efforts will be fruitful! 😉

In general, I am a positive, upbeat person. However, we all have those periods when things get to us or drag us down.

I went through one of those seasons recently and decided to take some “positive” action against my “negative” attitude. I started a Thankful Journal. I don’t journal, I didn’t keep a secret diary when I was a teen or tween. I tried once, but quickly abandoned it when I couldn’t think of anything interesting to write about. Of course, now I blog weekly about all kinds of things….hmmm.

I started my Thankful Journal with a purpose, rules and a deadline. I was determined to get out of the doldrums, this was my main purpose. My rules were simple and straight forward, I had to write down 5 things I was thankful for every day (I couldn’t miss a day), they couldn’t repeat and I could not use my family in the list. The reason for the last rule was that I already know I am thankful for my family, I was trying to stretch my gratitude muscle. My self-imposed duration for the exercise in thankfulness was 30 days. I figured that I should be able to do it for 30 days.

I found a cute notebook (duh) and began my journey. It was not as easy as it sounds. Some days I was in bed and realized I did not make my thankful list for the day. I wasn’t even sure where I left the notebook. I learned to keep it close and take it to bed with me, so I wasn’t stomping down the stairs at night looking for it. I challenged myself to take it seriously and look carefully at my life to acknowledge the small, wonderful blessings that I have. The first few days were kind of dry and rote. But as I kept at it and searched for interesting things I was thankful for, it became easier.

I found that I was grateful for things like a warm breeze blowing on my face instead of an icy winter blast or that a ceiling fan was finally installed in my bedroom and I can sleep better at night. I realized I am grateful for living in the modern world with indoor bathrooms, air conditioning and hot water running out of my kitchen tap. Things we can easily take for granted. The list goes on and grows as your imagination embraces thankfulness.

The 30 day exercise did help me shake my gloomy state. And yes, I did all 30 days, I didn’t miss any (I did come close though). I also began having more of a grateful awareness in my every day journey.

I encourage you to do your own Thankful Journal – use your rules – then see what you discover about yourself.

I’m just thankful for everything, all the blessings in my life, trying to stay that way. I think that’s the best way to start your day and finish your day. It keeps everything in perspective

I am not sure when or where I came across this recipe but I have been making it for years. It is my youngest sons’ favorite “summer dish”. Unlike a lot of pasta salads, the guys in my family like this one…probably because it tastes like a deli sandwich.

Here is what you need to make this easy and delicious pasta salad.

Ingredients:

1 box of multicolored corkscrew pasta (or any other kind you want to use)

1 small bottle balsamic vinegar dressing

1/2 can of black olives – cut into pieces

1 cup of grape tomatoes cut into halves

1/2 cup red onion – chopped fine

1/2 pound mozzarella cheese – cut into cubes

1/4 pound Genoa salami – cut into cubes

1/4 pound pepperoni – cut into cubes

Cook pasta until done. Drain. Put drained pasta into a large bowl. Pour the entire bottle of dressing over the pasta, then stir. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate, make sure to stir before serving. It works as a side or main dish. Super easy!

This salad can be modified anyway you wish. Substitute cheddar cheese for mozzarella, use different meats or vegetables. At the deli I ask them to cut my meat in one big quarter pound chunk.

This pasta salad ended up in large plastic storage containers due to an oversized watermelon taking up space in my frig!